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As Ramadan approaches on Friday, Syracuse University’s Hendricks Chapel is preparing to offer support services to Muslim students throughout the month. The chapel will provide meals, prayer spaces and community events to help students observe the holy month.

Imam Amir Durić, SU’s Muslim chaplain, emphasized the importance of finding a supportive community during Ramadan, as many of its traditions center around spending time with family and friends. During the month, observers fast during the day, eating only before sunrise and after sunset.

“Not having family here might be, especially those who are away from family for the first time, an adjustment and the biggest challenge,” Durić said. “So, finding community and that extended family is important.”

Ramadan, a holy month celebrating the Angel Gabriel revealing the first verses of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad, is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The Islamic calendar, based on the moon’s cycles, causes Ramadan to begin on a different date each year, unlike the fixed dates of the Gregorian calendar.

Throughout the month, healthy adults are expected to observe a fast as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Durić said fasting helps develop empathy and compassion for those who experience hunger regularly. Fasting also offers an opportunity to renew faith, seek forgiveness and increase self-discipline.

To support students’ nutritional needs during Ramadan, Durić said Sadler and Ernie Davis Dining Halls will provide packaged meals. Students with meal plans can pick up food for suhoor, the final meal before sunrise, and iftar, the evening meal to break the fast.

Hendricks will offer a limited number of evening meals for students without meal plans, Durić said. Before spring break, the chapel will host evening prayers at 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday. After the break, prayer will begin at 9 p.m.

Since SU will not host prayer or iftar during weekends, Durić encouraged students to explore the broader Syracuse community by attending prayers at local mosques.

“Sometimes they extend invitations to host students in their places of worship, and this provides students opportunity as well to connect with community members and get better support with other things down the road,” Durić said. “It’s really valuable for students, but also for the community.”

The Muslim Student Association and Hendrick’s Chapel Muslim Chaplaincy will also host their annual “Iftar Under the Moonlight” in the Schine Student Center’s Goldstein Auditorium on March 4. MSA hopes to host non-Muslims for prayer at the community dinner, Durić said.

For daily prayer, students have access to various prayer spaces across campus. These spaces are located within Hendricks, in Schine, Bird Library, the Barnes Center at the Arch, Dineen Hall and SUNY ESF’s Moon Library, as well as all residence halls.

As students fast while managing normal class schedules, Durić said students observing Ramadan may experience sleep deprivation — many students wake up early to begin their fast and stay up late for evening prayer. He encouraged students to maintain open conversation with professors, who are expected to be flexible with students observing the holy month.

Durić also said he hopes professors will allow students a brief break during classes that coincide with sunset so students can break their fasts at the right time.

SU’s Muslim Chaplaincy will host an Eid al-Fitr celebration on March 30 to mark both the end of Ramadan and the successful completion of fasting. The night before Eid, known as Sadaqat-ul-Fitr, is a time for giving, when Muslims donate to those in need.

“On this day, nobody goes hungry,” Durić said. “So before we celebrate, we want to make sure that those in need have a meal and that they can also eat that day with us.”

Ramadan begins Friday at sundown.

Published on February 25, 2025 at 11:23 pm

Contact Delia: dsrangel@syr.edu